Meeting to go over future of parks, recreation department

Those interested in West Richland parks can get a glimpse at the future at 6 p.m. Wednesday.

The city will unveil a draft of its parks and recreation plan at Enterprise Middle School. The plan was developed by PROS Consulting.

"This is their chance to participate, to weigh in and identify what matters most, what they like and want to see happen here," Mayor Donna Noski said.

PROS Consulting representative Brian Trusty began working on West Richland's plan in May. He subsequently held meetings with focus groups and individuals asking for ideas on recreation opportunities in the city.

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Bob Leedy, planning and community development director, and senior planner Aaron Lambert helped set up the meetings and then stepped aside.

In addition to face-to-face meetings, Trusty had city staff send out a survey asking for feedback.

"We had over 700 residents respond to the survey, which was 215 percent of what we needed to validate the results," Lambert said.

Those results also were incorporated into the draft plan.

On Wednesday, Trusty will review the plan, which includes recommendations for improvements to the 14 existing city parks. He also has included advice about what to include in future park and recreational development, such as adding a skateboard park.

One project West Richland residents likely will soon see is the construction of additional trails linking parks and green spaces.

One proposal Leedy said he hopes the city will deploy is the establishment of a parks and recreation department.

As the city grows, parks and trails will be needed for residents to use, Leedy said. One way to acquire that land is through a park impact fee.

"This is a one-time fee usually paid when the building permit is issued. This is for residential construction only, not commercial," Leedy said. "The money is used for development and improvements only, not maintenance."

West Richland already charges a park impact fee of $860. That figure likely will increase.

The draft parks and recreation plan will be posted to the city's website, westrichland.org, after the meeting. Enterprise Middle School is at 5200 Paradise Way.